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[2016] Reflections on a Coffin for Erkki Pirtola

by: Andrew Gryf Paterson, Miika Arhippa Pirtola, and others

Publication date: 2016-03-28

Usage: Attribution-No Derivative Works 3.0

Topics: Celebration, Artist-led rituals, Funeral service, Hand-painted coffin, Erkki Pirtola, Collaborative work

Language: English

This page gathers media and textual reflections on the process of making an artist-led family memorial process, including painting the coffin to lay to rest and celebrate the late Erkki Pirtola (1950-2016).

Finnish author, art critic, artist, TV-film-maker, educator and curator, Erkki was known in Finland and further afield for promoting a certain way of having a creative life, learning and understanding. He set himself as an example, but also sought it out, recorded and reflected upon as he saw it in others. Itse-elämä, in Finnish, means a self-made life or living, and for Erkki this was very much connected to creativity and making value and meaning from the materials or resources available to oneself.

Andrew Gryf Paterson was invited to join in the collaborative painting of the coffin with other Pirtola family members and friends, and also asked to write some words afterwards publicly to share, as a reflection on the process and taking part.